Daddy Poem by nadia abduljabbar

Daddy



Daddy,
What a beautiful word to say,
I yearn for your handsome face,
I long for your daring thoughts,
A quarter of a century
Or so, have passed,
Since you passed away
Ah, dad can it be true
I still miss calling you,
By what made your fame,
By your very first name,
Cuddling you,
As I used to do,
In the old good days.

Since you left,
Young and fragile,
Happy and funny was I,
With destructive jealousy
Surrounding my untaken lane,
Every one around wanted to control
My way of living,
Without knowing why,
But who could oppress a stubborn
Mind like yours;
I looked strong,
Though I was in need
For your protection,
So your memory never dies
Neither in my heart,
Nor in my brain;
Your laughter in the swimming pool,
Your sarcasm when you recall
The difficulties you passed through.

Do you recollect as I do,
How I used to help you,
In irrigating our huge garden,
When I held that bucket
For you
To water your roses,
You were so happy with my deed,
Then you said,
I equal thousands of sons,
You taught me how to plant jasmine,
To dance the Vales,
Oh, how can I ever forget
Your laughter, your tears,
Our discussions about religion,
Your jokes, your praises
For my anti traditional view,
For my belly dance before you,
I do remember
Your humour
With your off springs,
You knew how to furnish our track
With colourful stories just like that
Of Spring,
When it fills the air
With flowers fragrance,
When it makes birds
Produce melodious din,
Every moment I lived with you,
Is becoming so precious
With the passage of time,
Just like your enthusiasm
For love, for singing, for learning,
Even your passing
Moments of anger,
And short periods of melancholy
Are seen from a new
Positive angle;
They nurture me nowadays.


I can not but be nostalgic
For your early morning walk
In your satin burgundy
'ROBE DE CHAMBER',
Your pipe, your philosophical talk,
You taught me how to differ
With your political view
To criticize your poetry,
For democracy was a habit with you.


Recalling your wise
Words made me spring
From the sufferings I went through
Like a phoenix from the ashes,
They water my head
Oh Dad I do cite you,
I still pray for you,
The child in me,
Aches from the absence
Of your grasp, of your care,
Looking for your shore
In every man's face,
And every where.

Every thing you said and did
Is printed in my head,
Like a book I read every day
It supported me all the way.





Revised in Oct.2012